The present invention relates to dental implants.
At the present time various types of implants are used in dentistry and oral surgery. For example, a hole may be drilled in the patient's bone and a self-threading screw inserted and retained in the hole. The implant screw has a neck portion and an integral head portion which protrudes above the line of the gum. After the gum has healed, the head may be used to support the bridgework of artificial teeth. The angle of the head may be adjusted by bending the neck portion. Another type of implant is a flat blade-like body member which is positioned in a pre-cut groove in the bone. The blade-like body member has an integral head which protrudes above the gum line.
There have, over the years, been a series of studies indicating that it is preferable that the entire dental implant be "submerged", i.e., retained within the bone and below the gum, until after the gum has healed and at least some bone material has grown about the implant. The submerged implant is necessarily constructed in a number of pieces. For example, the procedure is as follows: a hole is drilled in the bone; a self-threading screw is screwed into the hole and a threaded hole at the top of the screw is closed with a removable plug. The gum is stitched closed ("sutured") and allowed to heal for 6 weeks to 6 months. Subsequently, the patient's gum is re-opened, the plug is removed and an abutment head member is mounted on the implanted screw. The head has a threaded shaft portion which screws into the bore of the screw implant, a neck portion and a head portion. The angle of the head portion may be adjusted by bending the neck portion.